DRIVING THE DAY

A HAPPY SHIP? Notwithstanding the above, the story of this Labour conference has been the lack of friction. Compared with previous years there has been little public acrimony or in-fighting, with Jeremy Corbyn now in full control of the party and his critics quietened by the election result. Hordes of enthusiastic young activists flooding into Brighton have made for a carnival atmosphere. In truth, most people are having a pretty good time.

But but but: Bubbling beneath the surface, Labour remains a party divided in at least five distinct ways.

— Brexit: Team Corbyn may have blocked a divisive vote on staying in the single market, but the debate is still playing out everywhere. On BBC Newsnight last night Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry refused to rule out staying in the single market — and keeping free — permanently. Ex Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale told STV she is “embarrassed” the issue was ducked at conference. The pro-EU group Open Britain have organized a single market fringe debate this morning.

— North v south: The Parliamentary Labour Party has fractured geographically, with a split emerging over Europe between Northern and Southern MPs. Many Northern MPs feel the party leadership is “too London-centric” — as Andy Burnham put it yesterday — and out-of-touch with core Labour supporters’ concerns about immigration. Many Southern MPs — Clive Lewis being the most extreme example — believe Labour should not pander to anti-immigrant sentiment. Brexit is pushing those splits into the open.

— Anti-Semitism: The Mail paints Labour as “the Nasty Party” on its front page this morning after a series of fringe events where activists attacked Israel. The Mirror reports how at one event last night a speaker argued for the right to ask: “Holocaust: Yes or No?” And a report today from the Campaign Against Antisemitism reckons Labour Party office-holders post eight times as much anti-Semitic content as those from other parties. This morning Labour delegates will vote on a tightening of party rules around anti-Semitism, with officials braced for another angry row. “We’ll win the vote, but I don’t see you have this debate without some of the more extreme types standing up and making outrageous statements,” a senior aide told Playbook.

— Levers of power: Splits are also appearing among Jeremy Corby’s closest allies about his plan to give more control of the party to its membership. Grassroots activists like Momentum’s Jon Lansman want truly far-reaching changes to party structures but trade union power-brokers like Unite’s Len McCluskey will not allow their own grip on the party to be undermined. “The trade unions don’t want any of the really crazy stuff,” one well-placed official said. “They like our arcane committees and structures, because it lets them stitch everything up.”

— Same old, same old: Plenty of Labour MPs were unimpressed by John McDonnell’s announcement that tens of billions of pounds-worth of PFI contracts should be brought back in-house, which makes the front pages of the Times, the FT, the i and the Metro this morning. In political terms the gap between Corbyn and the Parliamentary Labour Party remains as wide as ever. Critics are mostly staying silent for now, but remain fearful of the party’s left-wing direction.

Not staying silent: Tony Blair, who in a new Global POLITICO podcast tells Chief International Affairs Columnist Susan Glasser that abolishing tuition fees and “giving this for free, or that for free” is no solution in the modern world. “I don’t think it’s [the] answer, and I’m not sure it would win an election,” Blair says. “Maybe it would — but even if it did, it would worry me. In the end, I think a lot of these solutions aren’t really progressive.”

On the same theme: Rachel Sylvester spots another Labour divide in her weekly Times column — between youthful new activists and veteran left-wingers.

MEANWHILE IN BRUSSELS

BACK TO THE GRINDSTONE: Brexit talks resume this morning following another awkward presser from David Davis and Michel Barnier last night. POLITICO’s Brexit expert Charlie Cooper sends this from Brussels: “After the big speech and big ambitions in beautiful Florence, Brexit talks in functional Brussels have brought ministers back down to earth with a bump. Detailed talks start in earnest today after Michel Barnier’s sobering reminder yesterday that talk of transition is all well and good, but the EU won’t engage until the divorce terms are addressed to their satisfaction.”

On the other hand: Angela Merkel’s Chief of Staff Peter Altmaier told BBC Newsnight that “we have to discuss the future relationship,” in words that will have cheered the U.K. delegation’s hearts. However he also described the negotiations as “an awful, complicated mess.”

DD’s day: The Brexit Secretary stayed at the Ambassador’s residence in Brussels last night. He will meet a slew of MEPs this morning following yesterday’s summit with European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt, which aides described as constructive. Davis then travels to The Hague later this afternoon.

Also in town: International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will meet EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström at the Berlaymont.

BACK IN WESTMINSTER

THE (OTHER) DONALD: Theresa May’s week of Brexit diplomacy continues as she hosts EU Council President Donald Tusk at Downing Street. It follows yesterday’s summit with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. The PM is pushing to secure a breakthrough ahead of next month’s EU Council summit.

ALSO AT NO. 10: May will also host the new U.S. Ambassador to London, Woody Johnson, in Downing Street. Johnson will hold talks on Iran, North Korea and post-Brexit trade with May’s Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell. The prime minister plans to stop by.

BORIS ON TOUR: Day Two of Boris Johnson’s tour of central and eastern Europe sees him hold talks with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava. Yesterday’s trip to Prague was not without pitfalls — Jakub Krupa reports that the Czech Foreign Minister presented Boris with a mini ping-pong — whiff-whaff — set so “when on the road he can play not only political ping-pong, but also this.”

**Save the date: The EU Studies Fair will take place once again in Brussels for its 19th edition from February 9-10, 2018. LSE, College of Europe, King’s College, Canterbury Christ Church, KU Leuven, Kent University, The Johns Hopkins SAIS, Maastricht University and more will showcase their master’s programs in EU studies, international relations, business, law, public policy and economics. To find out more and pre-register, visit our website: www.eustudiesfair.com**

TODAY IN BRIGHTON

ROLL OF THE DICE: Deputy Leader Tom Watson will use his conference speech to announce a new levy on bookmakers to help treat problem gamblers. Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth will demand an urgent £500m cash injection for the NHS to avert a looming winter crisis, the Independent reports.

NOT SPOTTED at the Sky Party: A batch of Theresa May cupcakes ordered for next week’s bash in Manchester, but sent to Brighton by mistake. They were whisked away immediately. Happily there was still enough Corbyn cake to go round.

Key line: “Beyond the fringe gatherings of beleaguered moderates, there seems to be no sense that the Labour party is not, in fact, a little-known shoestring operation.”

BEYOND THE M25

This from Paris

REFORMING EUROPE: French President Emmanuel Macron will today make a major speech on Eurozone reform. His broader plan is to create a pan-European political movement that replicates the stunning success of his En Marche! party in France, POLITICO’s Nicholas Vinocur and Maia de La Baume report.

And from Berlin

COALITION EXPERTS: A handy guide to how Angela Merkel and her possible partners will go about forming a government, by POLITICO’s Emma Anderson and Judith Mischke.

And from D.C.

YES, THERE’S MORE: The use of personal devices and emails is widespread in Trump’s West Wing, POLITICO’s Josh Dawsey reports. Top White House aides including Ivanka Trump and Gary Cohn, along with Jared Kushner, occasionally used private email accounts for official business.

LONDON CALLING

Prosecco socialism: Former Labour MP Tristram Hunt is certainly making an impact in his new role at the V&A. The gallery yesterday opened an exclusive new bar for its members, complete with high-end cocktails, and prosecco on tap. The Evening Standard reports.